Cancer Currents: An NCI Cancer Research Blog
A blog featuring news and research updates from the National Cancer Institute. Learn more about Cancer Currents.
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Selumetinib Approved by FDA to Treat Children with NF1The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved selumetinib (Koselugo) to treat children with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1), a genetic disorder that causes tumors, called plexiform neurofibromas, to form throughout the nervous system.
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Single Dose of HPV Vaccine Yields Long-Term Protection from Many Cancer-Causing TypesMore than a decade after vaccination, women who had received a single dose of the HPV vaccine continued to be protected against infection with the two cancer-causing HPV types targeted by the vaccine, an NCI-funded clinical trial shows.
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Women Experience More Side Effects from Pelvic Radiation than RealizedWomen with cervical or uterine cancer who received radiation to the pelvic region reported side effects much more often using an online reporting system called PRO-CTCAE than they did during conversations with their clinicians, a new study shows.
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Experimental Drug Prevents Doxorubicin from Harming the HeartAn experimental drug may help prevent the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin from harming the heart and does so without interfering with doxorubicin’s ability to kill cancer cells, according to a study in mice.
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Training Cancer Researchers: A Conversation with Dr. Oliver BoglerNCI’s Center for Cancer Training (CCT) develops training and career development programs for the next generation of cancer researchers. Here, the new CCT director discusses his goals for CCT and the challenges of training cancer researchers.
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Health of Gut Microbes May Affect Survival after Stem Cell TransplantIn people with blood cancers, the health of their gut microbiome appears to affect the risk of dying after receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, according to an NCI-funded study conducted at four hospitals across the globe.
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Analyzing Tumor RNA May Help Match Patients with Most Effective Cancer TreatmentsA novel approach to analyzing tumors may bring precision cancer medicine to more patients. A study showed the approach, which analyzes gene expression using tumor RNA, could accurately predict whether patients had responded to treatment with targeted therapy or immunotherapy.
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New on NCI’s Websites, March 2020NCI periodically provides updates on new websites and other online content of interest to the cancer community. See selected content that has been added as of March 2020.
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For Children with Retinoblastoma, Disparities Seen across the GlobeChildren with retinoblastoma in low- and middle-income countries were, on average, diagnosed at an older age and with more advanced disease than those in high-income countries, an analysis shows. The data provide clues about global disparities in outcomes.
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Trial Should Change Care for AIDS-Related Kaposi Sarcoma in Sub-Saharan AfricaFor people with advanced AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma in sub-Saharan Africa, results from a large clinical trial are expected to change treatment. In the trial, paclitaxel greatly improved outcomes compared with treatments typically used in the region.
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Mapping Cancer Genomic Evolution Offers Insights into Tumor DevelopmentScientists have mapped the evolution of 38 cancer types, noting common gene and protein alterations that occur early, in the middle of, and late in their development. The hope is that these maps create opportunities to identify cancers much earlier.
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Cancer Moonshot℠ Workshop Highlights Recent Research AdvancesHundreds of investigators participating in the Cancer Moonshot℠ to accelerate cancer research met recently to provide updates on their progress since the initiative was announced in 2016.
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New Approach Uses Much Less Tissue to Analyze Tumor Proteins and GenesResearchers have developed a “microscaled” approach to analyze the proteins and genetic changes (proteogenomics) of a tumor that uses tissue from a core needle biopsy. The analyses can provide important information that may help guide treatment.
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Mouse Study Points to Strategy for Preserving Bone During ChemotherapyBone loss associated with chemotherapy appears to be induced by cells that stop dividing but do not die, a recent study in mice suggests. The researchers tested drugs that could block signals from these senescent cells and reverse bone loss in mice.
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Remodeled CAR T-Cell Therapy Reduces Side Effects in First Clinical TrialA remodeled CAR T-cell therapy causes fewer neurologic side effects and is equally effective as the original form of the treatment, according to results from the first clinical trial testing the approach in patients with B-cell lymphomas.
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VA Study Finds No Disparities in Prostate Cancer Deaths with Equal Access to CareIn the Veterans Affairs health care system—where all patients have equal access to care—African American men did not appear to have more-aggressive prostate cancer when diagnosed or a higher death rate from the disease than non-Hispanic white men.
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Artificial Intelligence Expedites Brain Tumor Diagnosis during SurgeryA method that combines artificial intelligence with an advanced imaging technology can accurately diagnose brain tumors in fewer than 3 minutes during surgery, a new study shows. The approach can also accurately distinguish tumor from healthy tissue.
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Is Proton Therapy Safer than Traditional Radiation?Some experts believe that proton therapy is safer than traditional radiation, but research has been limited. A new observational study compared the safety and effectiveness of proton therapy and traditional radiation in adults with advanced cancer.
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Avapritinib Approved to Treat GIST with a Rare Gene AlterationAvapritinib (Ayvakit) has been approved for adults with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) whose tumors have an alteration in a portion of the PDGFRA gene called exon 18. The approval applies to those whose tumors cannot be removed with surgery or have spread.
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Off Target: Investigating the Abscopal Effect as a Treatment for CancerIn people with cancer, the abscopal effect occurs when radiation—or another type of localized therapy—shrinks a targeted tumor but also causes untreated tumors in the body to shrink. Researchers are trying to better understand this phenomenon and take advantage of it to improve cancer therapy.